Citation

Ripoll Gallardo A, Alesina M, Pacelli B, Serrone D, Iacutone G, Faggiano F, Della Corte F, Allara E. Epidemiol. Prev. 2016; 40(Suppl 1): 14-21.

Vernacular Title

Effetti sulla salute a medio e lungo termine del terremoto dell'Aquila del 2009 e di altri terremoti avvenuti in Paesi ad alto reddito: una revisione sistematica della letteratura.

Affiliation

Dipartimento di medicina traslazionale, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Cooperativa Epidemiologia E Prevenzione)

DOI

10.19191/EP16.2S1.P014.043

PMID

27291203

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: to compare the methodological characteristics of the studies investigating the middle- and long-term health effects of the L'Aquila earthquake with the features of studies conducted after other earthquakes occurred in highincome Countries.

DESIGN: a systematic comparison between the studies which evaluated the health effects of the L'Aquila earthquake (Central Italy, 6th April 2009) and those conducted after other earthquakes occurred in comparable settings.

METHODS: Medline, Scopus, and 6 sources of grey literature were systematically searched. Inclusion criteria comprised measurement of health outcomes at least one month after the earthquake, investigation of earthquakes occurred in high-income Countries, and presence of at least one temporal or geographical control group.

RESULTS: out of 2,976 titles, 13 studies regarding the L'Aquila earthquake and 51 studies concerning other earthquakes were included. The L'Aquila and the Kobe/Hanshin- Awaji (Japan, 17th January 1995) earthquakes were the most investigated. Studies on the L'Aquila earthquake had a median sample size of 1,240 subjects, a median duration of 24 months, and used most frequently a cross sectional design (7/13). Studies on other earthquakes had a median sample size of 320 subjects, a median duration of 15 months, and used most frequently a time series design (19/51).

CONCLUSIONS: the L'Aquila studies often focussed on mental health, while the earthquake effects on mortality, cardiovascular outcomes, and health systems were less frequently evaluated. A more intensive use of routine data could benefit future epidemiological surveillance in the aftermath of earthquakes.

Language: it